


E Manu Capere

by Anndy



Category: The Eagle | The Eagle of the Ninth (2011)
Genre: Gen, Roman Customs, Slavery
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-19
Updated: 2015-12-19
Packaged: 2018-05-07 17:03:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,902
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5464244
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Anndy/pseuds/Anndy
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It turns out it's not enough to say 'You are free'.</p>
            </blockquote>





	E Manu Capere

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Heather](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Heather/gifts).



> Happy Yuletide!  
> Historical notes at the end.

"You are free," Marcus said, and he said it with such conviction that Esca never doubted him for a moment.

* * *

So when, with the Wall in sight, Marcus turned to him and said urgently, "We need to find a magistrate," Esca didn’t understand what he meant. "We could probably find one in Borcovicus. Or would you prefer Calleva? All the documents are there. It would be easier to do it in Calleva, if you can stand to wait that long."  
  
"You’re asking me? Marcus, I don’t care which magistrate you give the Eagle to," Esca told him, for what could have Marcus so agitated but the Eagle?  
  
"What? You think--? No, no, I’m speaking of seeing the magistrate. To free you."  
  
"You freed me already," Esca said. "Unless you didn’t really mean it. But you meant it, didn’t you?"  
  
Marcus had the grace to look embarrassed. "I- yes, of course, and in my heart you _are_ free, but for it to be official we need to see a magistrate. It’s nothing, really, just a formality, and then you’ll be free in the eyes of the law. I thought to do it in Calleva, since all the papers are there, but they’re not necessary as long as we have a witness, one of the soldiers from the garrison might do, they’re bound to remember us. I'm sure they would accept to testify. We could do it in the first town we find. Yes, that would be best, to get it over with quickly."  
  
_Of all the…_ It figured that even something as simple as freeing a slave had to be done a certain way to count. _The Roman way._ "This _formality_ \- just what does it entail?"  
  
"As I said, it’s nothing. We go before the magistrate, I say ‘this is my slave and I wish to free him’, then you, uh. You kneel in front of me, I put my hand on your head, I say the ritual words, and then the magistrate writes down your new name, and-"  
  
"New name?" Esca’s heart sank. He nearly stumbled, but kept walking somehow.  
  
Marcus forged on blithely. "You’ll be a Roman citizen, so you’ll need a Roman name."  
  
Esca could barely form the words, his mouth was so dry. "And do I get a choice in this new Roman name?"  
  
"No. As my _libertus_ you will take my _praenomen_ and _nomen_."  
  
"I see," Esca said, and it was like hearing his own voice coming from somewhere very far away.  
  
"It’s traditional. I’m Marcus Flavius Aquila, you’ll be Marcus Flavius Esca."  
  
He made it sound so easy, so reasonable… At least Esca would keep his name, even if he would have to tack Roman flotsam onto it. He tried to put up a brave front. "We’ll both be Marcus? How inconvenient."  
  
"Indeed. I told you, it’s a mere formality. I promise you, everyone who knows you will still call you Esca. The full _tria nomina_ is just for official matters, like contracts, and voting - you’ll be able to vote! - and your sons might even hold office!"  
  
He tried so hard to make it sound like it wasn‘t a huge thing that Esca had to try to make peace with the thought. "If you say so. I suppose that if I must have a Roman name, Marcus Flavius Esca will do. I don’t even know what I would pick if I had a choice." He mustered a smile. "Not that there’s much to choose from, half the Romans I know are called Gaius, and the rest are all called Marcus, Titus or Lucius or somesuch, if they even have a name that's not a number. Why is that so? Are there really so few names that when a father runs out, he has to resort to calling his sons Fifth and Sixth and so on?"  
  
Marcus threw back his head and laughed. "You are not so far off! There aren’t many traditional _praenomen_ to pick from, and the _paterfamilias_ tends to stick to the ones that have been traditionally in use in the family, so they run out _fast_. That’s why we have _nomen_ , to tell one Marcus from another. And then there are the _cognomen_ , to tell all the Marcii from the same _gens_ apart."  
  
Now that Marcus was laughing at the ridiculousness of it all, it didn’t seem so bad. But Esca still shook his head and mock-argued, just for the sake of it. "Romans! Why can’t you have sensible names, like Cunorix or Vindex? No man named Vindex need add anything to his name to be memorable."  
  
"Perhaps! But that’s the Roman way." He elbowed Esca playfully. "Come on, Esca, is it really so bad, to be _gens Flavia_ with me?"  
  
"I suppose not, I’m just not sure what it means. What exactly is a _nomen_ anyway?"  
  
"The _nomen_ is the name of your _gens_ , all the people descended from the same ancestor, and the _cognomen_ is the name of your family within the _gens_. I - well, I suppose the _gens_ is like a clan, in a way."  
  
Esca chewed his lip. "So by taking on your name, I am - in a way - being adopted into your clan?"  
  
"In a way." He smiled unselfconsciously. "And I can think of no greater honor than calling you kin."  
  
It was hard to stay indifferent to Marcus' smile, especially when he said things like that, so Esca didn‘t even try. "So tell me about these people that are to be my clan."  
  
"The _gens Flavia_? It is said that our ancestors were from Etruria. It is a noble clan with a most storied past and many prominent branches. Why, a century ago the Flavii Sabini ruled as Emperors! But as for the Flavii Aquilae, we have always been unassuming. We were content with serving in the army and farming our land. Now the farm is long sold and I have no commission, and I don’t know what the future holds, but it is in my heart to follow where the first of the Flavii Escae leads."  
  
"Truly?"  
  
Again, that smile. "Yes, truly. You have been subjected to my whims long enough. It’s high time you picked what we do next."  
  
"Do you truly have no plans? I thought you wanted to buy land for a farm." Esca had been less than thrilled. Romans thought farming to be the noblest profession a man could have, but that wasn’t so among Esca’s people. Manumission might make Esca a Roman citizen but it would never make him Roman in that respect, so he had resigned himself to the life Marcus wanted for himself. But Marcus had surprised him from the first hour of their acquaintance, and kept surprising him.  
  
"I would like that, yes. But I don’t want to be separated from you, so if you don’t want to be a farmer, I won’t be a farmer."  
  
Did he really mean it? The look on his face said yes. Touched, Esca thought about it. "I never said I didn’t want to be a farmer. I don’t fancy growing grain, but you can breed horses on a farm. I’d like that. It’s an honorable profession. Good money in it too." And Marcus could probably live with the compromise.  
  
They started discussing the best breeds, and by the time they reached the garrison the question of manumission had been driven from Esca’s mind.

* * *

In the end, Esca’s manumission took place in Calleva. Marcus and his uncle dug out the proof of purchase and sorted out who actually owned Esca. Aquila, all his doubts about Esca’s loyalty apparently forgotten, insisted he should be the one to pay the manumission fee while Marcus refused to accept what he called ‘even more charity’. Esca stood by and watched them, as his opinion on the matter was apparently not needed.  
  
On the next business day, they went to the forum and waited in line to talk to the magistrate. When it was their turn, Marcus stepped up and said, "This man has served me loyally beyond all expectation and I wish to reward him with his freedom."  
  
It was already mid-morning and the portly, middle-aged magistrate clearly didn’t want to spend more time than necessary on a routine request. He squinted for half a heartbeat at their papers, while Aquila vouched that he had bought the slave in question as a gift for Marcus. "Very well, and as for the tax-"  
  
Marcus (he had had his way in the end) was already thrusting a bag of sestertii at him. "I have it here. Five percent of the purchase price."  
  
The magistrate didn’t even count. "Good, good. Now you are both aware of your rights and obligations towards each other?"  
  
This was a new one. Esca looked at Marcus, at a loss. "I must make sure you have the means to support yourself and you must be properly grateful and devoted to me," Marcus said, with a wink to show just how seriously Esca should take this new obligation. Esca smiled back gratefully.  
  
"Oh, yes sir, Marcus explained everything to me. I will take my duties very seriously," he told the magister.  
  
"As will I," Marcus beamed. Aquila just looked at them and shook his head.  
  
If the magistrate thought their display strange he didn't show it. "Good. Now for the ceremony."  
  
Esca’s mouth was dry as he carefully went to his knees at Marcus’ feet. Marcus settled his hand gently on Esca’s head. They held each other’s gaze for what felt like an eternity. "I want this man to be free," Marcus said in a loud, clear voice that rang through he forum. Esca stood when he was told to stand and didn’t flinch when the magistrate lightly tapped him with a rod. It was really happening. This time he was really free.  
  
"All that is left now is to put the new freedman’s name into the _census_ ," the magistrate said, looking at them expectantly.  
  
_That’s me_ , Esca thought. Aloud, he said, "Marcus Flavius Esca." It sounded odd. It didn’t sound like his name. But maybe by the time he was an old man he would be used to it. Seven years ago he had thought he would die in battle against the Romans. Five years ago he had thought he would be a slave all his life. Six months ago he had thought he would die in the arena. Now he was free and he would grow old and he would have a horse farm with a Roman who was like a brother to him. It seemed unreal.  
  
"We are concluded here," the magistrate said. "Talk to my assistant about the _pileus_."  
  
_The what?_  
  
"Thank you, we will." Marcus ushered them away, and the next people in line stepped up to have their turn.  
  
"Marcus, I thought we were done."  
  
"We are, it’s just the _pileus_. It’s a felt cap that freedmen wear to show that they-" Esca must have looked murderous indeed, because he concluded lamely, "…you don’t have to wear it."  
  
Aquila rescued the mood. "Indeed. We have lingered here long enough. The administrative part is over, we should be celebrating the occasion. Come, Marcus, Esca, let’s go home and see what Cook has prepared for us."  
  
Marcus put his arm around Esca’s shoulder and smiled at him the bright smile Esca had come to love, and Esca allowed himself to smile back.

**Author's Note:**

> -The title means "sending out from the hand", which is where the verb emancipate comes from.  
> -No, it's not remotely like being adopted into a clan, but Marcus is trying to soften the blow here.  
> -Yes, Vindex is a real name.  
> -For various reasons, including mass freeing of slaves by emperors, by the final decades of the Roman Empire a vast majority of people were named Marcus Flavius Something and the praenomen and nomen had lost pretty much all meaning, and even at the time of The Eagle it was getting there. Marcus is right that everyone will just call Esca 'Esca'.  
> -Kneeling wasn't really a requirement for the ceremony, it's just more dramatic that way :)


End file.
